Men’s Socks for Giving Away

These simple socks will warm the feet and heart of any recipient, but most especially of one whose gifts are few. Please consider making a pair for someone in your community who doesn’t have much. You’ll both be glad you did! -Whitney

NOTE: You now have 14 stitches on needle #1, 28 stitches on needle #2 and 14 stitches on needle #3. Keep the stitches arranged like this throughout the Foot section so that they will be properly situated for the Toe section!

The Foot

Knit evenly until the piece measures 2 inches less than the desired final length, measuring from the back edge of the heel.

Here’s a guideline for men’s shoe lengths (remember to knit the sock 2 inches shorter than the shoe length!):

US size 9 shoe (European 42) = 10 1/2 inches

US size 10 shoe (43) = 10 3/4 inches

US size 11 shoe (44) = 11inches

US size 12 shoe (45) = 11 1/2 inches

US size 13 shoe (46) = 11 3/4 inches

I’m making socks to fit a size 10 shoe, so I knit the foot until it measures 8 3/4 inches.

82 Responses to Men’s Socks for Giving Away

I got a problem with turning the heel. There are suppose to be 28 stitches on the needle but it says k16, ssk, k1 =18 stitches. Then it says 9 stitches on the other needle which equals 27 stitches. What happened to other stitch. Am I missing something.

Thanks for writing us! There should be 28 stitches on the needle, but when you SSK, you are decreasing one. Therefore, 27 stitches in total is correct. Please see the SSK tutorial below! I hope this helps!

Thanks for writing. If you would like to make a men’s size 7 (US), then you wouldn’t have to change the pattern at all except for the instep length. If you are making these as a gift and don’t have the person’s foot near by, I would look up online the average length from a men’s size 7 foot and use that as a guide for the instep length. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the kind comment! While I wear a men’s 9, Google says the average men’s shoe size is 10.5. I make my dad socks all the time and he’s a men’s size 10, but instead of fitting them to his feet every now and then, I’ll just make them a little loose on my size 9 feet and they end up stretching to fit his. Socks should have negative ease, so if they are snug, it’s not a bad thing. Good luck on the project and happy knitting!

Thanks for the sock pattern. Can I use Kroy sock yarn for your pattern (do I need to make any adjustments to the pattern)and also do you have a pattern for circular needles (if so, what size should I use)? Many thanks. Anne

Thanks for your question! You can use any yarn you like as long as your get the gauge right. If you can’t get the stitch gauge, then you’ll either want to adjust the cast on or choose a different yarn. You can certainly do this pattern on circular needles! I recommend an 8″ cord. They take some getting used to, but are totally worth it for knitting in the round!

I have searched a lot for a good men’s sock pattern for my son’s Christmas socks. I love this.. I can use the basic pattern for pretty much any look.. solid, the pretty stripe this shows, or even an intarsia (His socks will have a Christmas tree pattern row ) Thank you so much. It’s a beautiful sock and easy pattern.

I’m having trouble understanding the heel flap. Total of 56 stitches, I knit the first 14 stiches then purled the next 28 stiches…these 28 stitches are the stiches I use for the heel flap..got that. What about the other 14 stitches? Won’t the round be off when I come back to pick it up?

So glad you’re making these socks! When you want to start the heel flap, you will knit 14 stitches beyond the beginning of your round and then turn your work so the wrong side is facing you. You will now be working flat, purling the 14 stitches you just knit and the 14 stitches beyond the beginning of round marker. These 28 stitches will be your heel flap stitches that you’ll work back and forth until you are finished.

I’m making these socks for the second time. I think it’s important for others to know how easy these are but also so well suited for people making socks for the first time.
I love making these socks. Thank you so much for sharing this free pattern and for your great instructions — really appreciated.

Thanks for writing in! You certainly can knit these and most sock patterns two at a time. We do not have a tutorial on how to do this but there are tutorials and books out there that address how to knit two socks at the same time. Alternately, you could purchase two sets of DPNs and knit both socks at the same time!

This is a lovely pattern, and I particularly love the sentiment behind it. I am considering making some to give away, but I do not know the recipient’s shoe size and am hesitant to ask — do you think that making an “average” sized sock could work? Or do hand knitted socks really need to be made to fit the recipient’s feet? I don’t have enough experience with sock knitting to suss this out on my own and could use some advice! (Thanks so much for all the hard work and dedication that it takes to put together the amazing patterns and tutorials on this site. They are truly top-notch!)

Great question and thank you for your kind words! Socks are generally pretty forgiving. This is more so the case in circumference rather than length. Making hand knit socks, a men’s size 9 length will not really work for a man with a size 13 foot and vice versa as the 1 1/4 inch difference could mean a quite tight sock or a quite long sock. If you can get an idea of the recipient’s show size, you will have a much better result for the sock.

Hi,
I am a very experienced knitter but never made socks. They intimidate me. So many comments on how great this pattern is I am finally going to try making them for my son-in-law for xmas. Is it possible to do this as a ribbed sock or simple pattern in the same color and keep with the pattern as written??
Thanks.

Thanks for reaching out! While a simple rib worked on the leg of the sock and the instep shouldn’t change the fit of the sock too much, I would be wary of adding any other stitch patterns or motifs, since they can affect your gauge and therefore the fit of the sock. I do hope you give it a try as socks are wonderfully rewarding both to knit and gift!

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